Body camera footage shows St. Paul officer shoot, wound fleeing assault suspect

St. Paul police have released body camera footage that shows an officer shoot an assault suspect in the arm after he ran out of an apartment into a hallway where police were waiting.

Brett Kohl Fraser, 31, was shot in the arm early in the morning of Jan. 6 by officer Joshua Needham and survived. Police were responding to a 911 caller who reported a man was sexually and physically assaulting a woman while he was armed with a handgun.

The footage shows Needham and fellow officer Ryley Reschke standing outside the apartment in the 400 block of Thomas Avenue W. with guns drawn, knocking on the door before a woman opens it and sobs can be heard. They let her leave the apartment, and Reschke calls out to Fraser in the next room, ordering him to show his hands and asking if he has weapons.

Reschke has his gun pointed into the apartment while Needham waits in the hallway and instructs Fraser several times to come out slowly with his hands up. He tells Needham he can't see Fraser. The videos show both officers back up as Fraser runs out from the apartment into the hallway towards them, with Reschke yelling, "He's got something!"

The footage shows Fraser's left hand clenched in a fist, although it's unclear what object he is holding. Department spokesman Sgt. Mike Ernster declined to say whether Fraser was holding an object. "I don't think it would be appropriate for me to say right now," he said and referred questions to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which is investigating the shooting.

Needham fired three rounds before Fraser collapsed in the narrow hallway. The footage runs about 2 minutes and includes Needham and Reschke's footage.

St. Paul Police Chief Axel Henry described the incident as a violent crime involving a firearm.

Needham, who has 11 years of law enforcement experience, has been placed on administrative leave, which is standard practice for Minnesota officers who use force in the line of duty. He previously worked for the Orono Police Department and was cleared by a grand jury in 2014 after he and three other officers shot and killed an armed murder suspect.

Fraser had not been charged as of Friday, but was arrested after his release from the hospital, according to the BCA.